A Thread Is Still Enough
by Halfbreed741
Summary: [One shot]The mission has finally come. It's either retrieve or assasignate. Is a thread of hope enough to save Sasuke when this would be their last chance? Will team 7's family...finally be complete? [sakusasu]


**AN: I don't own Naruto...**

**A Thread Is Still Enough...**

**--------------------------------------**

The mission had been accepted. The conditions were known to them. There was no turning back, because if it wasn't them to do it, it would be done by someone else. Racing through the forest, five leaf shinobi sped through the mountain in search of their targets. The cool mountain breeze brushed past them as they solely concentrated on the mission at hand. Years had passed since the last attempt in completing this mission, and from that attempt, something was made clear to them. With that, the conditions for their mission were now changed from retrieval to assassination. The group, Hebi, were now well known, like the Akatsuki. By being just as hazardous as the Akatsuki, they were to be exterminated, it just turned out that, the leader had to be assassinated by his former teammates.

Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Kakashi, and Yamato finally came to a stop as they waited for Kakashi's dogs to come back with more information on their targets' whereabouts. Like Sai, both Naruto, and Sakura's eyes were dull and emotionless. After first accepting the mission, they became complete strangers to everyone, even their own senseis. Kakashi looked at his former students in regret. If only he watched for signs sooner. If only he was able to stop all of it before, but regret can do nothing for them now, especially with the mission they were assign to. Kakashi's thoughts were interrupted as Pakuun appeared before him.

"Did you have their location?" Kakashi asked, almost wishing the answer was no.

"Hai. He's still with Hebi and is traveling with the same nins as before. They're near the base of the mountain on the southeast side.

"Good job Pakuun, you can rest now." Kakashi said.

"Finally, it's been two weeks since I had a break. Summon me if you need anything else." Pakuun said.

"Got it." Kakashi muttered.

"Oh, and Kakashi" Pakuun began, seeing the masked nin's face, "I'm sorry." He muttered before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"Let's move." Yamato ordered, heading towards the southeast part of the mountain's base.

"Right." Kakashi said. He looked at Sakura and Naruto. "There's only about a thread of hope that Sasuke will come back without us resorting to killing him. Don't let your emotions cloud your better judgment." Kakashi warned before following after Yamato. The two nodded in understanding.

"Sakura, Naruto. You two alright?" Sai asked, concerned.

"Yeah, we're ok. We knew this was going to happen one of these days." Sakura said, before following after their former sensei.

"Naruto." Sakura whispered. He nodded showing he was listening. Looking back to see that Sai was far away, she whispered, "You remember what we agreed upon right?"

"Yeah, but, are you sure Sakura-chan. I don't want to lose both of you, especially by-" Naruto began.

"Don't you want to be hokage?" Sakura asked, seeing Naruto's hurt expression.

"Of course!" Naruto said. "But..."

"I want you to fulfill your dreams Naruto. I can only trust you to protect the village."

"But I want you there when I become Hokage. I wanted everyone there..." Naruto whispered, looking to the floor.

"Naruto, I'm sorry, but this is what I want, and this is what we need to do if it comes to it." Sakura said in a soft tone. Naruto merely nodded, looking into her eyes.

After another day of searching, they finally found their targets. The well known assignation group, Hebi, was now only minutes away from them. Placing the wireless radios on their necks, the group prepared for their ambush. Both Naruto and Sakura let out a deep breath before giving the sign they were ready.

"Alright, let's move." Kakashi said, sprinting through the tree tops, everyone following afterwards.

"An ambush!" The leaf nins heard Suigetsu call out grabbing his sword from his back.

"Kakashi!" Yamato called out.

"I'm on it!" Kakashi called back, his sharingan blazing.

"Sai, you go after Karin. I'll handle Juugo!" Yamato called out.

"Naruto, Sakura, find Sasuke!" Kakashi ordered, blocking Suigetsu's sword with his kunai.

"Got it!" The two called out. Both Sakura and Naruto headed out of the battle where they sensed a stronger chakra pattern. On their way to another clearing, there, they saw him, their lost teammate, Uchiha Sasuke.

"Naruto, Sakura. It's been a while." Sasuke said, monotonously.

"Sasuke." Naruto muttered, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.

"Sasuke, this is your last chance. Come back to Konoha for trail, or be executed now." Sakura said, doing her best not to show any emotion. Sasuke just looked at the two.

"Trial? They'll just kill me anyways." Sasuke said grabbing the hilt of his sword.

"That's not true! You killed Orochimaru-" Naruto began.

"I'm not going back." Sasuke said, cutting Naruto off.

"Then we have no choice, do we?" Sakura said sadly, failing to keep her face emotionless at this point.

"Teme..." Naruto growled out, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

"Gomen, Sasuke...kun." Sakura muttered before disappearing. Sasuke's eyes widened at her speed, but quickly composed himself as he dodged to the right, avoiding a deadly punch.

"Damn it Sasuke!" Naruto called out successfully landing a kick in Sasuke gut. Sasuke flew back only to block Sakura's fist. Grabbing her wrist he threw her to the side, straight into where Naruto suddenly appeared. She crashed into him, both falling to the floor.

"Thanks Naruto." Sakura said before rushing back into the fight. Naruto summoned a clone as he started to form his well known rasengan, watching as Sakura was in a heated match with Sasuke.

"Hn, you've gotten stronger Sakura." Sasuke said, blocking a kick with his sword. "But not strong enough." Sasuke infused his sword with the chidori, successfully shocking Sakura, and sending her crashing into a nearby tree.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled, aiming the swirling mass of chakra straight at Sasuke. Sasuke used his sword to block, his chidori creating some sort of barrier. Naruto stood his ground as he continued to push his jutsu further. The two glared at each other, memories of past similar events flooding through their minds.

"Sasuke, why can't you just come back? Can't you see we still want you to come home? Didn't you get your revenge?!" Naruto yelled, the kyuubi's chakra leaking out.

"Yes, I did get my revenge." Sasuke said, looking straight into Naruto's red eyes.

"Then why don't you come home?" Naruto yelled, almost enraged at the new information.

With Sasuke other hand, seals started to form on each finger tip. "Because..." Sasuke said charging his chidori to match Naruto's strength. "...I have no home." Sasuke finished as he thrust his free hand on the Kyuubi's seal on Naruto's stomach.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled seeing Naruto's rasengan dissolve in a fast rate.

"Teme..." Naruto muttered, his eyes returning to its natural sky blue.

"The five prong seal. You should remember this from that snake, the day I got this." Sasuke said, his body already in the curse seal level two. A clone appeared next to Naruto, as he collected as much chakra as he could in that moment. Sasuke jumped back as a huge fissure broke the ground apart. Sasuke looked to the side to find Sakura glaring at him.

"You'll always have a home Sasuke." Sakura said charging at him. She aimed a kick toward his head, but he easily dodged it as he swung his sword downward. The blade grazed her cheek as she barely managed to escape. "You always did, and always will." Sakura said, blood dripping from the cut.

"You both are so naive." Sasuke said, suddenly appearing behind her. "This isn't like a story that everyone has a happy ending." Sasuke throwing a punch at Sakura, only to be blocked, but the impact still sent her back. Sakura's body turned into a block of wood as the real Sakura held Sasuke from the back.

"Hn. You can't be serious Sakura. You can't possibly hold me, especially when I'm in this form." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Not for long, but that's all we need. Now Naruto, don't worry about me!" Sakura called out.

"What?!" Sasuke said looking ahead of him. There he saw Naruto with a new kind of rasengan charging toward them. The jutsu was shaped like a large swirling shiruken. _"The chakra concentration is so high! Does he plan to kill both of us?!"_ Sasuke thought in disbelief. Naruto looked from Sasuke to Sakura. For the first time in years, the three of them were back together, but he only wished under different circumstances.

_"Goodbye, Sakura-chan, Sasuke..."_ Naruto thought as he aimed his attack straight at Sasuke's heart. Sakura held Sasuke with all her strength as Sasuke struggled to move out of the way.

"Fuuton Rasengan!" Naruto yelled, throwing his arm forward.

"Chidori!" Sasuke called out at the same time. A huge explosion took place, shaking the earth under all the shinobi.

_"Naruto, Sakura!"_ Both Kakashi and Sai thought, seeing a huge cloud of smoke further down the forest.

As the smoke subsided, Sakura opened her eyes to find herself laying flat against the ground, mere centimeters away from a smoldering crater. "Naruto...Sasuke-kun?" Sakura muttered, sitting up. She barely had any chakra to heal herself. She quickly scanned the area, everything around seemed to be burned, and charred. There on the other side of the crater she saw a hint of orange, there she saw Naruto's body. "Naruto!" Sakura called out. But there was no reply, which scarred her.

_"Why am I still alive?"_ Sakura thought, seeing that she had many critical wounds, but was still living nonetheless.

"Ahhh!" Sasuke yelled, the top half of his body sitting up from a pile of turned over dirt. He was back in his regular form, breathing heavily.

_"Did Sasuke protect me with his chidori?"_ Sakura thought, but then shook the thought off. _"Is Naruto ok? Could his fuuton rasengan have backfired because of Sasuke's chidori?"_ Then she realized their mission wasn't complete as Sasuke attempted to stand up.

"Sasuke-kun, please." Saskura said, as she forced herself up. As a medic, she knew she shouldn't be moving in her condition, but pure determination clouded her better judgment.

"Sakura...Just give it up." Sasuke said through pants.

"Why can't you just go back home. You had your revenge, why can't you just come back, with Naruto, Kakashi...With me?" Sakura said, using most of her strength to keep herself standing.

"I've told you already. I have no home. I don't need anyone." Sasuke said looking directly at her. Sakura began to slowly walk toward him.

"Then why didn't Naruto's attack kill me? Why didn't you let it kill me?" Sakura asked, cringing with every step.

"That was all by chance. You just happened to be saved at the last minute."

"I see." Sakura said looking down at the floor, "...I don't know what happened to you after you killed Itachi, but I don't know what made you think that you didn't have a home." Sakura said with a smile, finally within arm's length of him.

"How many times do I have to-"

"And how many times do I have to tell you! We want you back! Don't you get it? We'll do anything to accomplish that! We want you back home! We forgive you for everything! I just want you to please Sasuke-kun, just please come back. Don't leave again, not this time." Sakura said, tears threatening to fall. "Our mission was to eliminate Hebi, but I couldn't stand the thought of you dying. Especially by our hands. I rather die with you, than live without you." Tears spilled from her eyes as she stared straight into the dark black pools she remembered looking into all those years ago.

"How annoying..." Sasuke muttered, Sakura eyes widen at those words. "You still have that childhood crush on me? Is that the reason why you want me back so much?" Sasuke asked, looking at her with distant eyes.

"No. I...No...**We** want you back because you're part of the family Sasuke-kun. You may not have recognized it, or maybe even ignored it, but you still have a family in Konoha. Our team, wasn't that like having a family? Kakashi as the lazy, perverted father, with Naruto, the annoying, and loud brother. Bonds can never be severed Sasuke-kun, you should know that by now." Sakura said. Her body began swaying back and forth from exhaustion and blood loss. Sasuke was in no better condition. A brief silence passed as the wind started to pick up.

"So then, what am I to you?" Sasuke asked, barely above a whisper.

Sakura smiled before answering, "You're still the same Sasuke-kun that I remember. Not because of the looks, or the name, but just for you. You may have done many things, and you may have hurt many people, but you're still the same. You'll probably doubt it, but you're the same Sasuke that is part of team 7, part of the family." Sakura spat out blood as the largest gash on her side continued to bleed.

"How can you just forgive me like that? How can you or Naruto say that I'm part of your family after all I've done?" Sasuke asked.

"Like I said, it's your family too, and I can always forgive you Sasuke-kun. Naruto and I didn't care when everyone said that there was only a thread of hope left of ever bring you back. I don't care if there was only a thread of hope left of you realizing that we wouldn't stop trying...Because no matter how much I try..." Sakura suddenly fell forward. Sasuke watched as she fell to her knees, and before she could fall to the side, Sasuke's body moved on its own as he fell to his knees and held her by the shoulders. Sakura stared into Sasuke eyes, not being able to stop herself from being drawn to them. With the last of her strength, she leaned forward until her lips met Sasuke's. Sasuke's suprise was unmasked, but the warmth he fekt in the pit of his stomach made him do something even he never thought he would do. Sasuke returned the kiss, bringing new tears to roll down from Sakura's eyes. That small moment, that single moment, Sakra felt as though everything was right again. It was short, but it was all Sakura could ever ask for, as their lips parted.

"I can't seem to stop being in love with you." Sakura whispered, her vision becoming blurry. Though in a delusional state, Sakura felt Sasuke hold her close, his chin resting on her shoulder. She could hear his slow heart beat, the steady pace rocking her to sleep. They stayed like that for who knows how long, but it no longer mattered to Sasuke. Sasuke looked at her sleeping form before carefully resting her on the ground. He then heard some one approaching them. He looked up to see Naruto limping towards them.

"Teme, always having to make things so complicated and dramatic, huh?" Naruto said smiling, one eye half closed.

"Shut up dobe." Sasuke replied, smirking. Before Naruto could retort, he fell backwards, unconscious. "Hmph. So annoying." Sasuke looked at the two, a true smile forming.

"I guess a thread is enough to make me realize, and bring me back home." Sasuke muttered before blacking out himself, lying next to his teammates.

Moments afterward, Kakashi, Sai, and Yamato finally arrived to the clearing. Only to find that the mission was already completed. Yamato took out a kunai, ready to execute their first objective, but Kakashi and Sai stopped him.

"As leader of this mission, I state it complete." Kakashi said, Sai already heading forward with extra medical supplies.

"That wasn't our missi-" Yamato began.

"I'll repeat, this mission is complete." Kakashi said before heading toward the others to help Sai.

"Hai, understood." Yamato said, putting away the kunai.

_"What do you know?"_ Kakashi thought looking at his beat up, and unconscious team. His eyes soften, for the first time since Sasuke left their team was whole again._"I guess a thread was enough..." _Kakashi then smiled seeing that his family was going back home.

---------------------------------

**AN: Yeah, I know, a little corny...eh. This was originally suppose to be and ending to one of my stories, but in the end I decided for it to be a oneshot after thinking about it. I'm kind of happy that it's a oneshot cause I really like the other ending I made for the other story.. XP Anyways...Thanks for reading! Ja ne!**


End file.
